CeQur's insulin pump draws $27M Series B

Ten months after winning a CE mark for its new insulin delivery device, Switzerland's CeQur has nailed down a new $27 million financing round to help support its European commercial ramp-up. Funding will also help back regulatory efforts in the U.S.

Execs are mum about specific contributors to the Series B round, other than noting two new private investors led the round, which also included "current shareholders."

The cash will back a manufacturing scale-up for the company's PaQ simple insulin delivery device, which won a CE mark in November 2012. At the time, the company said it would pursue a limited launch in 2013 with a wider European rollout in 2014 after more clinical testing.

While insulin delivery devices are pretty commonplace, CeQur bills its iteration as a new twist that could grab interest from the more than 11 million people in the U.S. and European Union who rely on daily insulin injections to manage Type 2 diabetes. That market, the company estimates, is worth $3 billion.

PaQ is wearable and can provide three days of continuous insulin, plus on-demand bolus insulin to top up levels for mealtimes. It's designed to be hidden easily and simple to use, with a reusable insulin monitor, and a reservoir and insulin infuser that are both disposable. CeQur also says its version is cost effective and much easier to use than other previous attempts to automate insulin delivery through subcutaneous insulin-infusion and avoid the burden of daily injections. Safe, reliable, automated insulin delivery is also a key element for companies such as Tandem Diabetes Care and Medtronic ($MDT), and their efforts to pursue development of an artificial pancreas, which would combine an insulin pump with a continuous glucose monitor to more tightly control blood sugar levels.

"This financing is a reflection of the tremendous progress we've made with PaQ in the past two years, the strength of our clinical data, and a broad understanding of the value this transformative device will bring to people with Type 2 diabetes," CeQur Chairman Eric Milledge said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the funding will help back continued U.S. regulatory efforts. CeQur, which launched in 2008, is based in Horw, Switzerland, but also has operations in Nordborg, Denmark, and Marlborough, MA.